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Chocolate Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

first off…. happy birthday to my sweet momma! we love you, tante…

…….

having a little guy can certainly change the way you look at things. with halloween approaching there’s been lots of talk of spiders, monsters, skeletons and “ooey” eyeballs. i lose count each day of how many costumes he changes in and out of. (i guess if i’m honest, this could describe any given day of the year at my house, but it does seem moderately more frequent lately.)

my boy is definitely excited for daddy’s work halloween party. after a short discussion, the executive decision was made to wear batman, since spiderman was worn to school and ironman will be worn halloween night. oh, those important decisions

when you’re three and a half.

my job, of course, was to make and bring some gluten-free cupcakes. with spiders on the brain, and not so much time or desire to spend too much effort in the kitchen,

these were born.

if you’ve even glanced at my recipes page, it is quite clear that i really love to bake. but sometimes, a box-mix cake is in order. this was one of those times. and since some rather delicious mixes are out there (hello, betty crocker gluten-free), i’m all for it. especially when it buys time for a little extra pumpkin decorating and ooo-blech sessions with my hilarious little skeleton kid.

but homemade icing is easy. and so much better than the canned stuff. this is a caramel frosting, reminiscent of leche quemada, a heavenly mexican burned sugar candy. delicious enough to be eaten from the bowl, but divine when topping a chocolate cupcake.

Spider Webs:

Instructions

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar and cream; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in vanilla and salt. Gradually beat in powdered sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add additional cream, if frosting is too firm, one teaspoon at a time.

Melt candy coating in a microwave in 30-seconds intervals, stirring well in between, just until melted. Transfer melted candy coating to a piping bag or plastic zip-lock bag; snip end of bag. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Pipe spiderweb design using a template or freehand. Sprinkle with edible glitter. Repeat to make 12 spiderwebs.